Seeing the way God uses color in his creation inspires my art and gives me a clearer view of His love for me and you. I'm inspired by the sparks of emotion I feel when I see color, and I hope you feel those sparks when you view my work.
β€” Lindsay Wilkins


life lately.





Life has been busy lately. The summer went by in a hot blur, filled with splash park outings, road trips big and small, and lots of playing in the kiddie pool in our back yard. And now, somehow it's October?! This is the first week that has really felt like fall, and I have mixed feelings about it. I've joked with a few friends in person that I think I may have PTSD from last winter (remember the 10 foot tall snow piles?!). So, this is the first fall season where I've really felt more dread at the coming cold than joy at enjoying the crisp air and changing leaves. Working on getting my head on straight, but last winter may have ruined me for life. 

I owe you a big blog post about our trip to Canada a few weeks ago, but let's be real-- probably not gonna happen. Long story short, we ended up falling in love with Ottawa while we were there. A complete surprise and blessing. Still a little bit apprehensive about the move up there, but feeling more peace about it after we spent a few days wandering the city, exploring parks and coffee shops and the riverside views. 

Last week, we celebrated Delia's first birthday. We went on a family hike in the woods, ate cake, and spent the whole day just hanging out enjoying our sweet kids and feeling so thankful that God chose us to raise them. Last Saturday, we had friends over for a little celebration, and feasted on curried chicken cider soup, warm beer bread and apple crisp. She took her first steps that day, but has been hesitant to really pursue that mode of transportation, and prefers crawling at lightning speed around the house. 

Chris has been brewing a lot lately. He made two wines earlier in the spring-- a delicious off-dry (I have no idea what that means, but it's slightly sweet and floraly) white wine, and an amazing red wine, that I could drink all day (which is saying a lot, because I'm normally a white wine girl). He also made a coconut stout beer last month, using real coconut that he chopped up and roasted. And then yesterday, he started a batch of hard cider using apple cider from a local farm.  It's been such a fun hobby for him for the past few years, and hopefully we'll be able to continue with that in Canada. 

We just rejoined the Y for the fall/winter, and I'm about to go meet a friend for a Zumba class. I kind of have a feeling I'm going to pull a muscle or something, since my exercise this summer has consisted of hauling around kiddos, lifting beers to my lips, or wading in the bay. Let's hope no one is Periscoping the class (that would be like a felony, right?!). 












three reasons I love my C-sections.

moving on up.